Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-10-05
= pplOs and Tho Fruit Interests Ct Yeas.

Apples and The Fruit Interests Ct Yeas.
To the Editor of the Gazette.
Thinking that the question of raising
apples and other fruits in Texas might
prove of some interest and eventually
profit TO the many readers OF your VS. =
usble paper, | wish to make few pr4c-
teal suggestions TO the farmers of our
country IN regard 20 raising fruit, espe-
cially apples. | will say before gong
further tnat practical demonstration OF
the focts set cut in this srticle may be
seen upon the fruit farm OF Mr.. WiIIzm
Mckinney Of Denton county in this State,
and 30 waOm ! am largely indebted for
the grest6r p1rG of ing information con
Corning TIE propagation OF fruit uad IN.
care OF trees. MIR. McnInney's theory, ana
[ maY say my own, is Ihst Of tie tap-rCo.
Us opposed to That Of surface root tTees.
Inc ference between the two and tbs
advantages 10 be derived by pursuing tn
former method over tie latter by the
grover I Will nov try 10 demonstrate.
III most nurseries when g seeding Is one
year Old tic work OF preparing trees for
the market commences. Now Whist II the
process! Ii most ms, GDCeE The following
is Gbe method pursued, the seeding is
removed from the ground end the sur
face roots are cut lc.0 scnaus
about two inches LONG and the
variety Of fruit Wsn5cd grated on tnsI
picc5 Of surface ToC,. Now Wnat is The re-
suit? Probably from one Seeding fifteen
sa]a0le trees ore obtained fer market,
out OF which numGer, after they com
mence beaciug and are subjected to n
dr0utA, Gully one vii come through all
right. Many will ask why ( sey onlg one
out Cf fifteen will stand the test, and that
is just the point l wish 10 make The
only Tree that succeeds is the one that
was originally grated ON the tap rcoU CT
the original seediIg-tbe1 one tree, is
the only one capable OF WithStsndiE2 g
severe drOUth successfully while bearing.
1t slOne out Of the fifteen original trees
has tap root thai goes down deep in the
earth and furnishes life aud vitality to
the tree and keeps it in g. healthy copdt-
ton when it is most needed, tina. is il
the summer while the tree is fruiting.
The ground during one of our drouths il,
one night ssy almost devoid of moisture
for distance Of six inches from the sur
face OF the earth. Now under those con
ditlOns, which we Gil know to be fact in
this state, is it reasonable TO think tree
with only surface roots can be as healthy
as tree with botn surface and in al
dition q strong healthy tap root
10 sustain il? and unless the tree is graft
ed or tap root, you will never have one
to your tree, as there is 8 broad lire OF
distinction drawn By nature between a
tap &nd suTfsce root, and you may take il
as demOnstrable fact that surface root
will nnT nn6GY PjrPnm no
anything but surface root Even with
tap roots to our trees, however, we can
not raise fruit without giving the trees
proper attention any more successfully
than you can cotton or corn. For in
stance, in Mr. McKjnney's orchard of
over 1000 apple trees, embracing eighteen
different varieties, upon the closest in
vestlgation I failed tC find single borer
Texas. Neither did l see g single scar
caused by rabbits; and why? II was sim
ply because his trees receive the proper
attention, and at the proper time. In the
fall $50 he told me) he rubs the bark near
the ground with hog liver. After the liver
is somewhat decomposed il becomes
gummY, end when applied to the bark of
q tree 1t stays there till spring, end the
l HOH4I-|C4IEs q vel u1lA'J cAiLuttly bGG
choice about what it eats-1ill never
touch tree so treated. In the
spring Mr.. Mckinney makes a
soap out OF crude carbolic acid
and the other ingredients which l have
forgotten, out the fo7mula
of which Mr. Mckinney will cneeriuIlY
furnish TO any one who mGY write to him
inclosiug stamp for replg, at Gsrzl, Dec
ton county, Tex. When mis- soap is pre-
pared he places one-hslf pound in the
crotch CT eGcn tree in his orchard about |
the month OF February; escn rain there |
after furnishes the tree with a bath and |
washes OF the hog liver placed there the
previous fall. After such treatment you |
will never fnd borer hardy enough to
attack the tree, besides the bark on Nc
Kinney's trees look as though it had been
he claiming that his treatment !
caused that appearance.
Mr.. McKinney's trees are at present
,nly four and one-hslf years old, but
nevertheless on one of the Ben Davis
'ariety l counted ffty-seven of as fac